Yet another law school exam has been written in local newspaper headlines. On Oct. 23, 2015, 56-year-old Howard Timothy Cofflin Jr., formerly of Loganville, was arrested at his mother’s home in Dundalk, Maryland. Cofflin was charged in connection with devising a plot to kill his ex-girlfriend, and to build bombs and construct an assault rifle. According to charging documents, after his ex-girlfriend received a protection-from-abuse order, Cofflin plotted to “go to war” with state troopers from the Loganville barracks. Cofflin, who is prohibited from owning a weapon as a result of prior convictions, was piecing together an AR-15 style assault rifle. He also planned to build improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with propane tanks, nails, nuts and bolts to bomb the state police barracks, according to police.
On Aug. 14, 2015, Cofflin’s ex-girlfriend received a temporary protection-from-abuse order. According to the affidavit of probable cause filed as part of the police criminal complaint, Cofflin was charged with terroristic threats on Sept. 2, 2015, after he sent texts to an acquaintance, stating he planned to “take care of” his ex-girlfriend. The texts included a picture of a hatchet. Cofflin indicated he had purchased the hatchet, but was shopping for “a suitable large one now,” and while he was “looking for a gun,” he felt he could “get an ax faster.”
